Monday, June 29, 2009

One year and 204 posts ago today my daughter pushedme into the deep end of blogland. I coughed and spluttereduntil I found my feet. Somehow my kite startd flying highafter I grasped the basics of enjoying my computer.

I am grateful for all the encouragement I have receivedfrom my fellow bloggers, but more than that, for yourgrowing friendship during my learning curve.

Paddle Steamer on the Murray River at Mannum SA

Your expressions of sympathy and kind and caring thoughtshave helped me bear my recent loss. To all of you who cared,a big, big hug and thank you.

Our cattle survived the drought although the calveswere tiny.

Blogging made me want to learn the basics on the computer.Before, I only used it as a tool to do our rather complexfarm tax on, now I am enjoying it.

Blogging has given my photography extra purpose as Iphotograph for particular memes, and learn to adjust lightand the shortcomings of my telephoto lens.

I have barely had time to scratch myself this year, so Iengaged Kip my Border Collie grand-dog to do it for me.

Blogging has re-awakened my writing from its hundredyear sleep, and even got me painting again.

An old Gumtree on the farm that I love very much.

Above all, I have met all you wonderful people I now callfriends, and am privilged to be invited to your homes foran on-line cup of tea, a glass of wine or even a gala ball.

Sunrise on the farm in South Australia.

Through this means of communication the world hasshrunk and engendered much better communicationbetween individuals at least.We are all born, live, love, work and die, no matterwhat nation or belief system we prefer to belong to.

So let us love each other and the world we live in andthus make it a bettter place for those who come after us.

The wonderful blue of Forget-me-nots.

To Klaus and the MY WORLD/SkyWatch team a bigthank you for all the help I have had from you this year.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

We're on the way, to-morrow is the funeral buttoday was full of wonders.

My camera is my lap dog so I was able to capturethree shots before these parrots had shot over our head.The combined speed of us at 110kph, the birds somethingsimilar in our direction, they were gone before I saw them!

The skies were superb, I shot off at lest 30 cloud shots inone afternoon. I'll share some more another day.

Sorry about the fuzziness, shot almost straight up throughthe windshield. From the silhouette alone it is difficult toidentify the parrots, it is easier to say which they are not.

I will not be able to see your posts or comment until we gethome next week.

Check out the rest of the world's skies by clicking on the Logo.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who manage this memefor the rest of us sky addicts.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The fog having settled in my brain, my feet led to theWild Wood, the children's secret world where goblinsroam and faeries frolic in the dell. Where the owl hootsat mid-night and the blackbird calls at dawn, wherediamonds sparkle in the grass and Unicorns are knownto pass and children are both safe and free to roam andwander as they will.

Just go down hill and leave gates as found till youcome to the creek with trees all around. The willowybreeze is different there, the leaf litter thick and dank,you feel there is magic in the very air with wing beats

around you everywhere. The old tree clothed in greenmoss where he lies where others more recently lay downby his side. A carpet of shamrocks covers the ground andstealthy rustlings follow you around.

Look up and gold still bedecks the trees with bluepeeping through to gladden the eyes.

A giant of the forest lies across the creek, a highwayto the little folk whose dwellings lie the bank beneath.

King's ransom gold hangs on the trees to dryas children through the ages pass near by

A witche's house? a castle? a tidy up of sorts of drought

dead trees that block the way but not a thing that is the

wood's is ever taken out ... wood gently turning back to earth

to bring forth more of its own kind.

The Wood is left to nature's way to do with as she wills,

wild quinces line the creek bed, a clump of age old pears,

surviving many fires, still dressed in snowy white in springvies with the row of hawthorns to the bees' unending joy.

The tangled wood tells tales of old....

The creek here widens with some stepping stones

glinting silver in the sun's warm light. Frogs hide in the

watercress and turtles wander here and there, small barefoot

children squat beside the pool, watch water bugs and lambswho come to drink, make nests of plaited grass or when thethe creek is dry, build cantering horses in the creek's soft bed

of sand.

Their happiness still sings within this quiet place.

The magic steals along the bank, turns silver poplars

into precious gold

to float in pools of blue...

with faery diamonds sparkling in the grass as to themolten silver pool I pass.

The laughter of the children follows me uplifting spiritsso once more I see.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Since I cannot fly, the drive to his funeral will be longand weary and I will be away for a little more thantwo weeks. Internet possibilities will at best be intermittent,so my normal posting and visiting will be on hold.

He has gone somewhere over the rainbow to be with hisparents and brother and sister......may blessed peace envelopthem all now.

This palace was built by the Emperor for his mother.It took 15 years to complete and was started in 1750.No wonder it took so long, the lake was dug out andheaped up to form the Longevity Hill topped by a temple.He wanted his mother to have the best of everything so ,Beijing being on a plain, he gave her a lake and a mountain.

Being a potter, I was intrigued by the vast numbers ofglazed green and yellow tiles and figurines used in theconstruction.The summer Palace is ranked among the most notedclassical gardens of the world, 726 acres of splendourincluding within it the garden of Harmony, a trulywonderfully peaceful place.

Just one of the colourful yet subdued courtyards.

The buildings feature a great deal of marble, in carvedbalustrades, steps and courtyard flooring. Withouttourists it has an intrigueing atmosphere of bothsplendour and peaceful wellbeing. Everywhere coveredwalkways shield you from the elements. Before air-pollutionit must have been a delight of splendid reflections in the lake.

Looking down from a little way up the hill, the marble shipis always in the right place for a perfect composition, beingbuilt upon the bottom of the lake.

Please excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken witha little pre-historic digital camera which was all I could carrybefore my aortic valve replacement.

This magical place, and please do enlarge it, is a scaleddown version of Shanghai. The Empress having heard ofthe beauty of it, wished to see it. Shanghai was too faraway for her to travel there so the Emperor had it broughtto her. A bit like Mohammed and the mountain.

For other wonders of the world, click on the Logo.

To Klaus and his diligent Team who contend so well withMr.Linky's tantrums, my sincere appreciation for hanging in there!

About Me

Ancient as time, favourite tree: the oak, animal: the wolf, flower: Anemone hepatica, place: a forest near water.Bird: too numerous to name,camera permanently grafted to hand, lover of light, nature, the sea, mountains, deserts,all forests, musing on the essence of being,loving all things great and small, caring for this wonderful planet of ours.